Archive - February 2018

Inspiration exists but it must find you working – Pablo Picasso The second month of the year was, surprisingly, a good month for me. Surprising because I had no expectations whatsoever. Indeed, I had things lined up to begin this month; I hadn’t anticipated the positive effects they would have on me. Despite being out of commission for a week due to malaria medication and drastically reducing my work out time, everything else came together in February. Finally, I read the last page of Fire and Fury; I wasn’t sad to close the book. It was long overdue. That’s what happens with an e-book. Nevertheless, I intend to try my hands on other e-books and speed up my reading time. My 9a.m. – 5p.m. gig got a much – needed boost from some news item and new posters; the phone calls kept coming in as well as the emails. Life was once again breathed into a project that had been in suspend mode for a tad too long. I started off two things. The first was posting an article to some of my contacts on Whatsapp every Sunday. This singular act pushed me to write more and keep to my timeline every weekend. I discovered I actually began to look forward to writing and posting; Sundays took on more significance to me. In addition, the feedback has been encouraging, and my inspiration seem to be never – failing. The second, which I believe is as a result from the first, is a new siblings series I began writing this month as well. The plan was to post four articles on the four Sundays in February, be consistent, build weekly expectation and then introduce this new series. Mission accomplished. The resultant emotion is beyond any words I can type here to effectively capture it. Thank you, February. It’s going to be an amazing 2018. photo credit: clipartbarn .com

A car is parked by the curbside. Another is idling right next to it, creating a rather narrow path way for other road users. In turn, this arrangement gives rise to building traffic as cars are constrained to slow their pace at this point and carefully negotiate no scratches on their cars while tooting their horns in disgust – parents on the school run route during rush hours. The lady behind the chaotic car is impervious to the loud and incessant honking behind her; she awaits her ward who is buying a snack or two from one of the shops close to the school. A parking ticket strictly for parents’ parking infractions would be an idea whose time has come. A Sienna, a rather long vehicle, kicks its engine to life in its parked spot. A CR4, searching for a space, notices the lights, and edges closer. The Sienna begins to back out but is unable to execute the move completely. The CR4 has left insufficient manoeuvring room for it to do so. Sienna toots once, twice but the CR4 doesn’t budge. Sienna driver alights and confronts CR4 driver, behind whose car a line of impatient waiting cars have formed. Though this scenario is commonplace, especially in the afternoons, there’s no getting used to queuing under the blaze of the Sun. ‘They don’t want to move back!’ Protests the CR4 female driver, gesturing behind to indicate her predicament. Sienna driver is totally confounded. This lady must have bungled mathematics at school. If not she would have figured out the wide berth needed for a car this length to reverse out completely, evacuate the spot and allow her take its place. Sienna driver returns to her car, parks it again and kills the engine. They say guns don’t kill people; people with guns do. Subsequently, cars don’t park incorrectly; people behind the wheels of cars do. By one of the school’s gates are at least three parking spots. One fine morning, a genius of a parent has somehow managed to occupy two of them by positioning an automobile haphazardly and diagonally,”more

One minute I was descending, balancing cutlery and plates on my right hand; the next , I was slamming my neck, spine and butt hard on jutting, concrete, well – laid out slabs – knocking the breath out of me and sending that balanced pile flying in all directions. I have a meeting at 9a.m on the island. Was my initial thought. I didn’t want to miss it. The possibility of a slipped disc or broken bones was insignificant. Much like the student who screamed: ‘Ah! My CK jeans!‘ when shot in the leg by armed robbers. It is difficult to describe what happened because everything went so fast like …magic. Africa movie magic. For several dazed minutes, I didn’t move a muscle. After that initial thought , Inly then did my mind begin to process the incident while waiting to get back the wind that shot out of me upon impact. The silence was eerie at 5.45a.m. as I finally, slowly craned my neck. That’s when fear began to sip in. Scared to move my entire body in the event of any physical or internal damage, I assessed the one in front of me. Most of the cutlery and plastic plates were strewn on the bottom half of the stairway. The only glassware, a pale blue wide plate ,was two steps below, snapped cleanly down the middle and laid in two equal halves. I shifted a leg and heaved myself up. No pain. No discomfort coursing through my body. Sigh of relief. I could carry on with my day. My beau emerged from above then, quietly, cautiously. He thought there was an intruder in the house. The crash and prolonged silence thereafter made him wary. Was I okay? Could I stand, walk? Did I need to lie down? Any pains? It was all good. The stairs in my life and I had a strong relationship. Running up and down them used to be an exercise routine five years ago. Trudging up and down was the substitute on a very exhausting day. They’ve allowed me fly down them in a hurry or”more

Online shopping? Nah, it wasn’t for her. Didi thought as Jumia’s discount sales on bags, shoes, women’s fashion flashed invitingly on the right. She was dinosaur like that. The touch, the smell, the physical effect on her senses led to a purchase. Merely viewing them did little or nothing to compel her to give money away. Her beau once ordered a pair of well – made, hand- crafted leather slippers (online) in two distinctive designs. They were beautiful onscreen, and even more up close when they arrived. The smell of rich, brown leather and a colour on them like the coat of a thoroughbred. The only issue? They were the perfect size for their four- year old son; Didi chuckled for days. She continued scrolling down her newsfeed. Nothing intriguing caught her eye amongst the assortment of posts by friends or family. Scroll. Scroll. Scroll. Facebook seemed like the Sahara. Yudala soon took over the 100% off trend on electronics and more female accessories. Fleetingly, she paused. No harm screen- shopping. She did it all the time; then had recurring dreams about desired items much later. Once again, nothing interesting. She resumed scrolling until… She did need a new black tote though as her fingers slowed, and her gaze stayed on a collection of bags by an old acquaintance. She clicked on the first photo, and didn’t stop until she got to the very last one. Online shopping? Like Blackberry, Whatsapp, Skye, etc, there was always a first time. She made a comment beneath a particular bag in an alluring caramel shade (the seller stated it also came in ash and pink hues): Could you please post the other colours? And continued scrolling. Two days later, the same acquaintance had uploaded a completely new array of bags. A diverse range this was with equally varied sizes, shades and appeal. A black one, tasseled with the American flag’s colours seemed to draw her in. Her comment read thus: I like this. How much is it? Old Acquaintance: 6,000. Payment validates order. Didi: How do I pay? How do I get it”more